FREE WILL-Real or Illusory?
This is a discussion for the ages as the debate rages on… As a thinking sentient being, one must eventually entertain this concept. Is it an illusion or is it real? Do we really have free will? Do we have the power to make conscious choices?
The following discussion is a shortened Cliff-Note version on the subject:
DETERMINISM:
Some physicists & philosophers argue that the universe is governed by deterministic laws of physics, meaning every event is predetermined by PRIOR events. In Determinism there is no such thing as chance or probability with different possible futures, there is only ONE FUTURE. Einstein agreed and opined that “God doesn’t play dice with the universe.”
Neuroscientist & philosopher Sam Harris additionally argued that free will is an illusion. In his view, we are merely a conscious witness of decisions that deep in our brains (our Subconscious) have already made. Everything you've done couldn't possibly have happened any other way, and everything you will do will be decided for you- without any input from your Conscious Self. Therefore, our genetics, childhood, environment, upbringing, and all the stimuli that we are made up of and exposed to has conditioned our brain to act in a certain deterministic way.
To the Determinist: You have no choice in HOW you act. You have WILL, but it is NOT free. Therefore, we are ultimately not responsible for our actions… (So much for social accountability and morality! ☹)
QUANTUM MECHANICS:
What is it? It is the study of how tiny particles (electrons & atoms) behave & it suggests that outcomes are NOT always predetermined, but subject to chance variations and different possible outcomes. At the most fundamental level, there is a degree of RANDOMNESS or unpredictability. The supporters of Free Will, argue that this randomness allows for genuine choices and actions that are NOT simply the inevitable result of prior causes. If the Determinist argues that any unpredictability is also be a result of prior causes- then it defeats their own conclusion, that there is only one future. Quantum mechanics throws a wrench on the Determinist viewpoint due to the variable of randomness and the alternative outcome possibility.
Note: Our Subconscious Mind is like a huge memory bank with unlimited capacity, permanently storing everything that ever happens to us. By the time we reach the age of 21, we’ve already permanently stored more than 100 times the contents of the entire Encyclopedia Britannica.
QUERIES:
1. If the Subconscious Mind is in the Control Box dictating behavior and outcome - does this (in & of itself) negate Free Will?
2. Is it possible to change our Subconscious Mind? Can we consciously reprogram our Subconscious Mind?
3.If the Subconscious Mind can direct the Conscious Mind to reprogram itself- does this negate the Free Will theory or does the paradox prove it?
DISCUSSION:
Query #1: If the Subconscious Mind is in the control box dictating behavior- does this (in & of itself) negate free?
Commentary: Only if if all the stimuli that we are made up of and exposed-to has permanently conditioned our brain to act in a certain deterministic way.
Query #2: Is it possible to change our Subconscious Mind? Can we consciously reprogram our Subconscious Mind?
Commentary: If the Subconscious Mind has UNLIMITED capacity, then it is constantly receiving and being exposed to all stimuli the Conscious Mind interfaces with & engages in. This being the case, the Subconscious Mind is constantly adapting and learning from the activities of the Conscious Mind. This suggests that it can theoretically be controlled and programmed, however, this is no simple task, because programming the Subconscious Mind (which works unnoticed) takes intentional work, focusing on our habits and employing
Transpositional Strategies (see below) to develop more acceptable behaviors & actions that we hope will become automatic. Implementing a Transpositional Strategy- shifts, converts, inverses, reverses, rewrites, and in effect REWIRES our previously determined responses to the stimulation of experience.
Query #3: If the Subconscious Mind directs the Conscious Mind to reprogram itself- does this negate the Free Will theory or does the PARADOX PROVE IT?
Commentary: I lean towards the latter. My argument: Any Consciousness that can transform itself- is in every sense of the word, FREE, whether it was pre-determined or not.
TRANSPOSITIONAL STRATEGY EX’S:
The following list are strategies to control/change our Mind Management:
1.Visualization- Creating a Vision Board.
2.Affirmations recitation.
3.Meditiation/Mindfulness/Breath focus.
4.Prayer.
There is an old Zen saying that counsels us on how to deal with the Mind: “The best way to treat your mind- is to MISTRUST it.” Truly, where there is mind, there is ERROR. Through my many failed trials in this life, I learned that one cannot liberate one’s Mind by Mind (now that’s perplexing!)…To clarify: One cannot use the Mind to reason with the Mind. Reasoning, raging, debating, and arguing (tried them all 😊) are useless to change one’s habitual thinking. Even Will-Power, although most admirable, is NOT sustainable. Hell, the Mind can’t even make up its mind, so forget about convincing the Mind. So, what then, can RE-WIRE the Mind?
PRAYER:
What is it? Prayer can be a heart-felt worship of gratitude or the earnest petitioning for a particular outcome to the exclusion of dreaded evidence looming before you. In both cases, it is an appealing (calling upon) the Creator of all reality, Jehovah.
Prayer elevates consciousness because it IMPLANTS an idea in the Subconscious Mind. With repetition, prayer can reprogram (over-ride) the previous habit-based paradigm of the Subconscious. Prayer literally changes a person physiologically: Studies have shown that it activates our parasympathetic nervous system which slows the heart rate, increases blood flow to our frontal lobes & anterior cingulate cortex, which causes the activity in the emotional centers of our brain to decrease. It elicits a release of certain neurotransmitters and hormones in the brain, such as dopamine and oxytocin.
In essence, prayer is an actual altered state of consciousness and the highest exercise of Free Will (Individual Sovereignty) because it involves a conscious choice (a voluntary act) to communicate with the Highest Power. It is the deliberate act of choosing to seek Divine guidance or intervention.
P.S.
Andrew Newberg, a neuroscientist at the University of Pennsylvania opined, “The more you focus on something- whether that's math or auto racing or football or God, the more that becomes your reality, the more it becomes written into the NEURAL connections of your brain."
“You Can Sculpt Your Brain,” says Neuroscientist Richard Davidson, “You can sculpt your brain just as you'd sculpt your muscles if you went to the gym…Our brains are continuously being sculpted, whether you like it or not, wittingly, or unwittingly... Each time you do something, you’re etching the groove pathway deeper, increasing the likelihood that you’ll repeat it." This is called NEUROPLASTICITY (the ability of the brain to form and reorganize synaptic connections).
B.P.S.
Romans 12:2: New World Translation:
“Do not conform to the pattern of this world but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.
Romans 12:2: (New Living translation):
“Let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think.”
CONCLUSION: Free Will is REAL Y’all! A belief unequivocally endorsed …From the Lookout Post.